Update

Rick Welts, ’75, (Out in the Open, September Columns) resigned as president and CEO of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns in September
to move to Sacramento to be closer to his partner. “The most
important thing for me is to get my personal and professional lives better aligned. They’ve probably never been aligned,” he
was quoted as saying. The Golden State Warriors subsequently hired him as their president and chief operating officer.

Kayla Burt, ’06, the former UW women’s basketball star who survived cardiac arrest when her teammates performed CPR until medics arrived in 2002, has joined The Hope Heart Institute in Bellevue as outreach coordinator.

Teresa Castner, ’89, ’94, a UW-educated dentist and affiliate professor in the School of Dentistry, and her husband, Bill Pope, are hosting a climb Mount Kilimanjaro on Feb. 11, 2012 to raise money to build a health center at the Rift Valley Children’s Village in Tanzania. www.tanzanianchildrensfund.org.

Richard Merrick, ’95, has been named Chief Science Adviser for NOAA Fisheries. He will lead six regional Fisheries Science Centers, including 30 Fisheries labs.

UW Pharmacy Professor and Dean Emeritus Sid Nelson, ’68, who received his B.S. in pharmacy at the UW, received the American Association of Colleges Pharmacy Volwiler Research Achievement Award. “I am indebted to some wonderful professors who were my mentors,” said Nelson, who was dean of the School of Pharmacy from 1994 to 2008. “They were key individuals who encouraged me to seek an advanced degree. Due to their inspiration, I have been involved in teaching and research for almost 45 years.”

Kelly Singer, ’06, founder of SassyFit, a fitness center aimed toward young, professional women, had the grand opening of another fitness endeavor, MOMentum, at Les Groves Park in Auburn in October. MOMentum features eco-friendly exercise equipment in city parks, allowing mothers to stay fit and active while spending time with their kids. A graduate of the Comparative History of Ideas program, Singer chose to locate MOMentum in Auburn because it has the highest obesity rate in King County.

Hope Solo, ’04, the former Husky soccer goalkeeper who led the U.S. to the finals of the 2011 World Cup, made the semifinals of this season’s Dancing with the Stars.